The Peel Commission was the first British commission to recommend partition as a way to resolve the intensifying conflict between Arabs and Jews in Palestine. Drawing on the hundreds of archival documents related to the procedures of the commission, this presentation examines how Palestinian and Jewish leaders engaged with issues such as: What should the commission’s terms of reference be? In which order should witnesses give testimony to the commission? Should testimony be given in camera or in public? The talk will explain precisely how Palestinian leaders ended up being excluded from procedural discussions that often had implications beyond mere mechanics. This in turn helps us understand one important reason why the commission was never a space of real political possibility for the Palestinians.